Celebrity Traitors star Julie Hesmondhalgh has revealed she gave up alcohol eight years ago after her niece's ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2018 left her "shook to the core". The 56-year-old actress, best known for playing Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street, said she believes there were times in her life when she was "borderline alcoholic".
A Turning Point
Speaking to The Sunday Times Magazine, Hesmondhalgh explained that growing up in the Eighties and Nineties as a working-class northerner made drinking a big part of the culture. She said the thought of driving somewhere and not being able to have a drink was "anathema" to her, but some of her worst experiences in life involved alcohol.
"And then, in 2018, my niece got ovarian cancer, and that really, really rocked me. That shook me to my core," she said.
Life After Giving Up Booze
Although her niece has since recovered, Hesmondhalgh has not returned to drinking. She said: "I wouldn't go back to lying in bed at night thinking what did I say and feeling mentally vulnerable for anything. In fact, I accidentally had a drink on holiday recently. Instead of a 0 per cent Heineken, they gave me a proper one, and I was sick as a dog."
The actress also admitted she still worries about how she behaved when she was drinking, saying: "I spend a lot of my time fretting that I've upset people." She added that there is a "good chance" she was either "crying or ranting" during her pre-sober years.
On Celebrity Traitors
Hesmondhalgh appeared on The Celebrity Traitors, where she was voted the most "trustworthy contestant" by her co-stars in the first episode. However, by episode four she was banished from the castle after her co-stars believed she was a Traitor. She was in fact a Faithful.
Comedian James Acaster recently revealed to The Times that a key scene was cut from the final edit of the programme. In the edit, James Blunt's reason for turning against Julie was that she was given the first shield. In reality, Blunt had shared theories with her privately, but she then repeated this to everyone, leading to misunderstanding.
Acaster said: "In the edit, James Blunt's reason was that Julie was given the first shield. What actually happened is that when they did the shoulder tap for The Traitors' pick at the beginning, James told Julie who he thought was acting suspiciously around the table."
